


Stuck in the Middle

by Sir_Weston



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Awkward Kissing, Cruise Ships, Evil Plans, Friendship, Gen, Major Original Character(s), Minor Original Character(s), Mystery, Not Romance, Unrequited Crush, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-29 18:38:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10859763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Weston/pseuds/Sir_Weston
Summary: Steven is invited by a mysterious man to go on a cruise and bring the Crystal Gems! Steven is excited, but Pearl isn't so sure everything is how it appears. Nonetheless, they go and start having a great time! At first...Soon, strange things start happening to them, including a disappearance, flirty patrons, and strange paranormal activity. Almost as if there's something off about this whole thing...





	1. Whatever Floats Your Boat

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I did bring this over from another site. For those of you who haven't read this yet, I hope you enjoy!

Steven liked to think that he knew everyone in Beach City. It wasn’t a very large city and most of the businesses were family owned, so if someone knew one person, they knew everyone. But the odd looking business man crossing the beach towards where Steven was lounging was one man that Steven had never seen before.  
He was a very pale man, like he barely ever went into the sunlight. He wore a very stiff and rectangular business suit that was light grey with darker grey vertical stripes. The man’s features were almost as stiff and boring as his suit. His brown hair was cut very conservatively, and there were no lines on his face, as if he never smiled or frowned. He was walking towards Steven in an unnatural sort of way, almost as if he had been trained to never bend anything. Not his suit, not his mouth, not his legs.  
Ordinarily, Steven would jump at the chance of meeting someone new. But the way this man looked was just so off putting, that Steven simply waited for the man to reach him before he stood up.  
“You are Steven Universe?” the man asked. Though in the dead tone of his voice, it sounded more like a statement than a question.  
“Um, yes?” Steven replied nervously, brushing sand from his pants.  
“And this is where the magical gem ladies reside?” Again, more of a statement than a question.  
“You mean the Crystal Gems?” Steven clarified. The man nodded in a stiff sort of way. “How do you know about them?”  
“I heard about them and you around town,” he answered vaguely, “The townsfolk seem to gossip about you a lot.”  
“Oh. Uh, is there something you need?”  
“Allow me to introduce myself,” the man said, “I am Mr. S. Quare, owner and founder of Square Globe Cruises.”  
“Square Globe Cruises?” Steven cut him off, excitedly, “That’s one of the fanciest and most elite cruise ship lines in the entire world!”  
“I know,” Mr. Quare said, “I own it. Anyway, as I was saying, I have been looking for interesting people to invite on a once-in-a-lifetime cruise that will go halfway around the world. I am hoping that by inviting someone like you people will more interested in buying a ticket.”  
Steven stared blankly back at him. “Are you saying that you’re giving me and the Gems a free cruise?” he asked.  
Mr. Quare sighed. “Yes, I am,” he replied, “All expenses paid, of course. I’m hoping it will boost sales. People don’t go on as many cruises these days, because they don’t think there’s anything interesting to see. But, if they see people like you, mystical gem warriors, perhaps they would be more willing to travel.”  
Steven’s eyes lit up. A free cruise! What could be better?  
“Here is a brochure,” Mr. Quare said, handing him a pamphlet, “Inside you will find your tickets, with all the information you need. Boarding place, date, the works. I do hope you and your, um, friends will be joining us. Good day.”  
With that, Mr. Quare turned and strode back down the beach. Steven continued to stare in amazement before excitedly running back into the beach house. He burst through the door, shouting excitedly.  
“Guys! Guys! Guess what just happened!” Steven exclaimed. No one answered, as no one was there. Steven’s smile faded as he looked around the room, finding no one. Saddened, Steven sat down on the floor.  
“They must be on a mission,” he sighed. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long for the Gems, as the warp pad suddenly activated. Excited, Steven stood and watched as Garnet, Pearl, and Amethyst warped in.  
“Guys! You’re back!” Steven greeted excitedly, “Great! Now I can tell you about- “  
“Hey, Steven!” Amethyst interrupted, “You’ll never guess where we went today!”  
“Yeah, I probably won’t,” Steven admitted, “But I wanted to tell you guys- “  
“It was this really cool volcano island,” Amethyst continued, ignoring Steven’s comments, “And there was this ugly monster thing!”  
“Honestly, Amethyst,” Pearl scolded, “There’s much more to it than just ‘an ugly monster thing!’ It was a horrible creature that was threatening to- “  
“GUYS!” Steven shouted as loud as he could. Amethyst and Pearl, surprised, turned to look at him. Pearl frowned.  
“There’s no need to shout, Steven,” she said, calmly.  
“Sorry, Pearl,” Steven said, putting on a sad face, “But I gotta tell you guys something! Something amazing!”  
The three gems looked at each other, then back at Steven. “Go on then,” Garnet said.  
Smiling and nodding appreciatively, Steven addressed the three. “So, I was relaxing on the beach when some guy I’ve never seen came over. Turns out he was Mr. S. Quare.”  
“Why have I heard that name before?” Amethyst asked, tilting her head.  
“Because!” Steven exclaimed, “He’s the owner of Square Globe Cruises!”  
“Square Globe Cruises?” Pearl repeated, confused, “But globes are round.”  
“That’s not the point!” Steven sighed, “The point is that he’s invited the four of us on a cruise! Isn’t that great!?”  
“Wait, why would this guy who you’ve never met before suddenly invite us on a cruise?” the ever skeptical Pearl wondered, “And how does he even know about us?”  
“Who cares?” Amethyst exclaimed before Steven could reply, “Free cruise, baby!”  
Steven sighed and turned to Pearl. “He said that he heard about us from the towns people,” he explained, “He told me he thinks heroes like us might be good publicity for his business.” He smiled up at the Gems. “So, what do you think? Can we go?”  
Pearl frowned. She started to say something, but Steven’s excited happy face stopped her. She bit her lower lip and looked away. “I don’t know, Steven,” she said at last, “It all seems very odd.” She turned to Garnet for support. “What do you think, Garnet?”  
Steven recognized the look on Garnet’s face. She was using her future vision to see what could possibly go wrong. Steven silently prayed she wouldn’t find a lot.  
Eventually Garnet adjusted her visor. “If Steven thinks it’s a good idea,” she said slowly, “Then I see no reason we can’t go.”  
Steven and Amethyst’s faces lit up with excitement while Pearl looked worried. As Steven immediately ran up to his room to start packing, Amethyst enthusiastically following behind, Pearl couldn’t help but feel that something was going to go terribly wrong.  
And in the days that followed, that feeling of dread grew.


	2. Over and Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and the Gems start packing and get on board the ship. Exciting!

According to the tickets Steven had received, the ship was set to leave in one week, giving Steven that long to pack. At first it seemed like a simple task: just pack the essentials, and don’t over pack. But as the week wore on, Steven kept changing his mind on what he considered “essential” until all the back and forth got on the Gems’ nerves.  
“Steven, why don’t you just let me pack for you?” Pearl asked him two days before the cruise. Steven looked up at her from where he sat on his bed deciding for the fourteenth time that day how many shirts he should bring.  
“Don’t worry, Pearl,” he assured her, “I’ve got it this time! We’re going to be gone for three weeks, right? So I pack two shirts per day, which is twenty-one days, so that’s forty-two shirts, plus a few extras just in case. Easy!”  
“How are you going to fit forty-two shirts in one suitcase?” Pearl wondered in confusion.  
Steven blinked at her. “Oh my gosh! You’re right!” he exclaimed, “That’s way too much! How will I fit my tooth brush? Maybe I should bring a second suitcase?”  
“Or you could bring less shirts,” Pearl pointed out.  
“Or I could do that,” Steven replied sheepishly.  
Pearl sighed as Steven went back to packing. She still had a horrible feeling about this whole thing, but it seemed like no one really wanted to listen to her. Even Garnet seemed more distracted than usual during the week.  
But that wasn’t the only thing that concerned Pearl. Steven had asked Peridot and Lapis Lazuli to come over and watch the Beach house while they were away. While Pearl knew they were both very close friends of Steven’s she didn’t know if she trusted them enough not to wreck the place, or Beach City, while they were gone. She was glad, however, that they had no way to get into the temple.  
On the morning of the big day, Steven and the Gems were getting ready to leave (Greg was going to drive them there) when there was a knock on the front door. Steven ran over to answer it.  
“Lapis!” he exclaimed excitedly when he saw his friend. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug, and she did the same. “Where’s Peridot?”  
Before she could answer, the sound of the warp pad activating sounded behind Steven and he and the Crystal Gems turned to look. Peridot warped in, looking triumphant, but then she spotted Lapis and frowned.  
“How did you get here before me?” Peridot questioned angrily, “We left at the same time, and I used a warp pad!”  
Lapis grinned and shrugged innocently.  
After Steven left the two of them instructions on the care of the place, namely how not to burn the whole place down, he and the other Crystal Gems piled into Greg’s van. Greg himself was glad that the gems, requiring almost nothing to survive three weeks at sea, had no luggage to speak of, as Steven’s suitcase and signature cheeseburger backpack were so incredibly heavy no mortal man could lift them.  
Steven sat up front, singing along to his dad’s cd’s, unaware that it was driving his family (particularly Garnet) crazy. Two and a half hours later when they finally arrived at the dock it was just about all the gems could take. Steven hopped out of the van and stared in awe at the large magnificent ship docked at the pier.  
“Wow! Look at this ship!” he exclaimed, spreading his arms wide as if he wished to hug it, “Isn’t it awesome, guys?”  
Garnet nodded silently in agreement, while Amethyst “oohed” and “ahhed” over it. Pearl, however, still looked apprehensive. She walked over to Steven and put a hand on his shoulder as Greg struggled to pull the luggage out of the van.  
“Steven,” Pearl said quietly, “Are you still sure about all of this? I have a really bad feeling.”  
“Don’t worry, Pearl!” Steven encouraged, “Nothing can happen when we’re all here together! If anything goes wrong, I know you guys will protect me! Right?”  
Pearl sighed and forced a small smile. “Right,” she said, “Of course.”  
The Gems and Steven walked over to the plank leading up to the ship where Mr. Quare was greeting guests. When he spotted the Gems, he smiled.  
“Ah! Steven!” Mr. Quare exclaimed, “So glad you could make it! Here, let me personally show you to your room.”  
After Steven said good bye his father, he picked up his bags, and he and the Gems followed Mr. Quare up onto the ship. As he walked, Mr. Quare decided to tell them about the ship. They walked through the dining room, the ball room, the gymnasium, the indoor pool, the outdoor pool, the pool room, the saunas, the lounge rooms, the game room, the disco room, the bar, the pizza room, and many, many hallways. While they were walking, Pearl kept her hands on Steven’s shoulders so he wouldn’t wander off; something that he had been in danger of doing many times. Amethyst as well became over excited at all the different rooms. After about two hours of giving them the tour, Mr. Quare finally showed them their room.  
The room where they would be staying was almost as big as the entire beach house. It was decorated with crimson and gold coloring, with four large beds in each corner of the room. A large sliding glass door led out to a fine sized balcony on the side of the ship. In the center of the room was the entertainment hub, with a giant flat screened TV and stereo system with a comfortable couch and two recliners facing it. There was a mid-sized kitchen area near the wall in-between two of the beds and a bathroom on the opposite side. A small crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room, and by each bed was a modest nightstand with its own fancy lamp. Steven and Amethyst stared in awe at the room, while Pearl’s eyes darted around anxiously. Garnet made no reaction whatsoever.  
“I trust you will all be comfortable here,” Mr. Quare said, “This is one of the best rooms on the entire ship!”  
“It’s amazing!” Amethyst exclaimed.  
Mr. Quare nodded. “Good,” he said, “We will be departing in about half an hour, if you wish to wave good-bye or anything like that.” He clapped his hands, then turned on his heel and strode away down the hall.  
As soon as he did, Steven dropped all his things on the floor. “I was getting tired of carrying those,” he explained when Pearl gave him a slightly annoyed look. He started to drag his luggage over to one of the beds, but Amethyst quickly ran past him and leapt onto it.  
“I call this bed!” she exclaimed as she landed.  
“Amethyst!” Steven moaned slightly.  
“Sorry, Steven,” Amethyst said, not sounding sorry at all, “I called it.”  
Sighing, Steven dragged his stuff over to a different bed and set his bags down beside it. He looked over at Pearl and Garnet. “Which bed to you guys want?” he asked.  
“I don’t care,” Garnet replied in her monotone voice.  
“Um, I don’t really care either,” Pearl said hastily, “It’s not like we sleep anyway.” She let out a nervous laugh, and Steven realized that she still felt uneasy. He ran over to her and took her hand.  
“Come on Pearl,” he encouraged, “Let’s go watch the ship leave together! That’ll be fun!”  
“If you say so,” Pearl muttered as Steven gently led her back into the hallway. Garnet and Amethyst after a moment’s hesitation, followed after them.  
By the time they managed to find their way back to the upper deck, the ship was just about to leave. Steven led the way over to the edge where people were waving good-bye to their loved ones. Spotting his dad, Steven waved wildly at him and Greg waved back. Then, the ship’s horn let out a loud blast, signaling its departure. As the ship slowly started to pull away from the docks, Steven’s sense of adventure grew, as did Pearl’s horrible sense of dread.  
This was either going to be the greatest three weeks of their lives, or the worst.


	3. Up an Ocean without a Boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and the Gems start to explore the ship. Hijinx ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is shorter than others!

Dawn of the First Day. - Steven  
Steven woke early the first day, excited to explore the ship. He looked over at the others. Even though Gems didn’t need to sleep, Steven was amused to see all three of them asleep. He giggled to himself, and quietly left the room. Every room was provided with a map of the ship, which Steven was grateful for. Otherwise he would’ve gotten lost on the way to the dining hall. As he walked on the deck, he smiled at all the people already awake and wandering around. They seemed to be in the upper class money-wise, but that didn’t bother Steven much. He was willing to get along with anyone.  
When he entered the dining hall, delicious smells hit his nose. He breathed in deeply, savoring every individual smell. The room was very long, with nearly a hundred tables set up for diners. Along one wall stretched a long table filled with different breakfast options. Trying not to drool, Steven went over and grabbed a plate, filling it high with eggs, toast, fruit, sausage, bacon, and all sorts of other things. He sat down at an empty table and was about to dig in, when someone suddenly sat down beside him.  
“Amethyst!” Steven exclaimed, “You startled me!”  
“Sorry, Steven,” Amethyst replied, not sounding sorry at all, “Hey! You got me breakfast! Thanks!” She started to reach for his plate, but Steven pushed her away good naturedly.  
“Go get your own food, Amethyst!” he chided, “This plate is mine!”  
“Fine!” Amethyst groaned. She stood up, but before she walked off, she snatched a strip of bacon from Steven’s plate.  
“Hey! My bacon!” Steven whined after her.

-Amethyst

After Amethyst had eaten almost everything at the buffet, she decided to wander around the ship looking for something to do. Unlike all the rich people who were up right now, she didn’t feel like sunbathing or playing shuffleboard. Wasn’t there anything else to do that was fun? She came to the front of the ship and gasped.  
A huge oval shaped pool took up a majority of the front of the ship, with a twenty-foot-tall high dive. Amethyst’s eyes sparkled with awe. Shouting with glee, she ran over and climbed up the ladder. At the top of the diving board, she took a deep breath, then changed herself into the Purple Puma, jumped high into the air, and came crashing back down in a blazing fireball, draining half the pool in the enormous splash. Laughing, Amethyst climbed out of the pool and looked around.  
Everyone around the pool was soaking wet. The adults were glaring, but the kids were cheering with glee. Grinning to herself, Amethyst started wringing out her hair. Suddenly, she heard someone coming towards her, and she turned to see Mr. Quare coming towards her.  
“Ah! Amethyst!” he greeted, “Enjoying our pool, I see!”  
Amethyst shrugged. “Eh, it’s ok,” she replied. She looked over at where the humans were drying themselves off. “Wish these guys knew how to have fun, though.”  
Mr. Quare let out a totally average boring laugh. “If you’re looking for entertainment, might I recommend our arcade?” he said, “It’s a wonderland of excitement.”  
“Sounds like something Steven would enjoy,” Amethyst noted. But she shrugged her shoulders. “Sure? Why not? I’ve got nothing better going on.”  
“Excellent!” Mr. Quare exclaimed, “Come! Follow me!”  
Amethyst, ignoring the angry glares of the parents, followed Mr. Quare into the ship. They walked past the dining room, where Steven was just coming out. Amethyst waved to him.  
“Hey Steven!” she greeted him, “We were gonna go to the arcade. You wanna come?”  
“They have an arcade?!” Steven exclaimed excitedly, “Yeah!”  
For some reason, Mr. Quare looked a little like he wanted to object to this, but because none of his facial muscles were functional any more, it was rather hard to tell, and Amethyst just shrugged it off.  
Amethyst and Steven excitedly followed Mr. Quare through the ship. The arcade was located about two floors below deck, almost right in the middle of the ship. And it was huge! Games of every shape and size were scattered throughout the large room, with flashing, seizure-inducing lights, and loud blaring music. Amethyst and Steven’s eyes lit up with glee.  
“Look, Steven!” Amethyst exclaimed, “They must have game in the world here!”  
“And even more!” Steven sighed. They shouted with joy and ran off into the arcade, ready to play every game there was.

-Pearl (Afternoon)

Being a bit of an introvert, Pearl felt a little nervous around so many strangers. It had taken several years for her to get used to the citizens of Beach City, but now there were so many unfamiliar faces, that she felt like she would soon be having a panic attack. When she had woken, Steven and Amethyst had already left the room, so she had no idea where they were. With the ship being as large as it was, they could be anywhere, and it was making Pearl anxious.  
As she walked through one of the many of the halls, she came across a large gym, full of different exercise and training equipment. The only person in the room at the moment was a large, tough looking sweaty guy. Screwing up her face in disgust, Pearl turned to leave.  
“Hey, you!” a buff sounding voice called out, “Don’t leave yet, you just got here!”  
Pearl turned and saw the tough guy eying her. He wiggled his eyebrows in a seductive way. Pearl was unimpressed.  
The man sauntered over to her and leaned on the wall, blocking her way out. Pearl gave the man an annoyed look, but he didn’t seem to notice.  
“Hey, baby,” the man said, “The name’s Chad.” He flexed one of his giant arms at her. “What’s your name?”  
“Pearl,” the gem simply, in a completely monotone voice.  
“Pearl,” Chad repeated in an elongated voice, “What a lovely name! The perfect name for a pretty girl like you!”  
Chad’s flirting was completely lost on Pearl. She stared at Chad with a very bored look on her face. She ducked under his arm to get to the door.  
“Yeah. Well, I guess it was nice meeting you,” she said, grabbing the door knob, “I hope I don’t see you again for the rest of this trip!”  
Then, before Chad could say anything, Pearl quickly leapt out of the room, closing the door behind her. She let out the breath she had been holding in.  
“What a creepy guy,” Pearl muttered to herself, “I definitely wouldn’t mind forgetting him sometime soon.”

-Garnet

Garnet walked through the ship, ignoring pretty much everyone. She was trying to find Pearl, knowing that she wouldn’t want to be alone, but because the ship was so large and Pearl was wandering around aimlessly, it was hard for Garnet’s future vision to pinpoint her.  
As she walked by the arcade, she stopped, hearing Steven and Amethyst’s voices coming from inside. Though it was quite unlikely, she decided to see if either of them had seen Pearl. Steven was playing some sort racing game that Garnet didn’t really understand, and Amethyst was beating a fighting game into a scrap heap.  
“Steven, Amethyst,” Garnet said, just loud enough for them to hear, “Have either of you seen Pearl today? I can’t seem to locate her.”  
“Nope,” Amethyst said simply, continuing to destroy the machine.  
“I haven’t seen her,” Steven replied.  
Garnet let out a frustrated sigh. She knew it was fruitless to ask them. As she left the room, she said one last thing to them. “Don’t stay in here for too long. You’ll damage your eyes.”  
She headed down below deck, following a large and grand staircase that was obviously reminiscent of the Titanic. As she walked down the stairs, she was relieved to see Pearl coming up the stairs.  
“There you are, Pearl,” Garnet said, betraying no emotion, “I thought you might want some company while you explore.”  
Pearl let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Garnet,” she said, “There are so many people and this ship is so big! I keep getting lost, and there was this sweaty guy…”  
Garnet put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “It’s ok, Pearl,” she assured her, “We can explore together. Steven and Amethyst are in the arcade, so they’ll be busy for a while.”  
“Oh, those two!” Pearl sighed, trying to relax, “They’re so easily distracted!”  
She kept close to Garnet as they continued to go deeper into the ship.


	4. Don't Rock the Boat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Pearl make some new friends and Garnet has a vision. A vision of danger for Steven...

Afternoon, first day – Pearl

Pearl felt much better walking beside Garnet. Because Garnet could remain calm in almost any situation, it was easy for Pearl to feel more confident around her. As they walked through the ship, with Pearl taking a few calming breaths, she found herself relaxing a bit more. The people around her didn’t seem as intimidating any more.  
“Maybe Steven was right,” Pearl said as they walked, “Maybe this cruise is a good thing for us. Right, Garnet?”  
“If you say so,” Garnet replied, looking around at the people who were pushing past them. Pearl couldn’t tell if she was being serious or not. It was often hard to tell.  
Smiling and looking around, Pearl spotted someone that made her stop and hide behind Garnet, her smile quickly fading. Startled, Garnet also stopped and turned to look at Pearl. She gave the pale gem a confused look.  
“Pearl? What’s the matter?” she asked.  
“That man,” Pearl hissed, “I saw him earlier in the gym and I think he was trying to hit on me. His name is Chad or something.”  
Garnet turned and looked at the man. He certainly looked like the type who would hit on a pretty girl with no shame whatsoever. He was standing a bit away, flirting with a blond girl who did not look amused.  
“Did you want to say something to him?” Garnet wondered.  
“I’d rather avoid him all together,” Pearl admitted.  
Garnet shrugged and continued walking with Pearl clinging to until they were well past the man’s line of sight. Pearl let out a sigh of relief.  
“Something about that guy really unnerves me,” she admitted to Garnet, “I just don’t know what.”  
Garnet adjusted her visor. “Neither do I,” she said.

-Steven

Steven had no idea where Amethyst had run off to, but at the moment, he didn’t care. He wandered the ship aimlessly, exploring and seeing all there was to see. He wasn’t watching where he was going and walked straight into someone. They both fell to the floor.  
“Ouch. Sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” Steven exclaimed as he quickly got to his feet. He saw that the person he had walked into was a boy around his age.  
As the boy stood up, Steven saw that he was about his own height, with red hair and slightly buck teeth. He was dressed in much nicer clothes than Steven’s, and had an annoyed glint in his eye.  
“That’s all right,” the boy muttered, rubbing his head where he had hit it, “No harm done. Though mother and father will probably be angry that I got dust on this coat.”  
“I’m sorry,” Steven said, “Is there anything I can do to help?”  
“Not really,” the boy replied, brushing off his sleeves, “Don’t worry about it. Mother and father fret about everything. They’re so uptight sometimes. They seem to forget I’m just a kid.” The boy offered his hand to Steven. “My name is Jarvis by the way. Pleased to meet you.”  
“Hi Jarvis!” Steven greeted excitedly, taking his hand, “My name’s Steven. Have you been on this cruise before?”  
“Indeed, I have,” Jarvis admitted, “My parents take me and my sister every year. I’ve been on this ship so many times I’ve practically memorized its layout. I’ve gotten dreadfully bored of it.”  
“How could you be bored?” Steven wondered in amazement, “This place is awesome!”  
Jarvis shrugged. “When you’ve been here as many times as I have you stop being amazed by things,” he replied, “Though I have to admit, meeting you is a pleasant change of pace. You certainly aren’t like the other people who normally go on this cruise.”  
Steven cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not?” he said, “How can you tell?”  
“Well, you don’t speak or dress like the other people on this ship,” Jarvis pointed out, “Not that that’s a bad thing. I find it refreshing.”  
“Thanks!” Steven replied, brightening.  
Jarvis paused when he heard someone calling him. “I’d better go,” he said, “I hear my parents calling. But I do hope to see you at dinner later this evening.”  
“You sure will!” Steven said, “See you later, Jarvis!” He watched as the boy strode away towards where the voice had been calling. Steven grinned to himself. His first day and he had already made a new friend!

Afternoon, second day – Garnet

So far things were going well, at least as far as Garnet could tell. She shared some of Pearl’s apprehension for this trip, but she hadn’t wanted to spoil Steven’s fun. Plus, there was always the chance that nothing could go wrong at all.  
At dinner the previous night, Steven had been eager to introduce the gems to the new friend he had made. They had eaten dinner with the boy’s family, and while his parents didn’t look very approving of Steven, they were very interested in the Gems for some reason. And Garnet could tell Pearl had been very nervous about them.  
What had interested Garnet, however, had been the little girl, Jarvis’ sister, who had been staring at Steven with this odd look on her face the entire meal. Steven hadn’t noticed, but Garnet sure had. Jarvis had introduced his sister as Belle Marie, and she had looked nothing like her brother. Garnet had recognized the look on her face. She didn’t like it.  
“I’ll have to keep an eye on that girl,” Garnet said to herself, as she sat in one of the lounge chairs on deck, “She’s trouble.”  
“Hey Garnet!” she heard Amethyst call to her. She looked side to side, but didn’t see her. Then she looked up and saw Amethyst leaning over the railing of an upper deck, calling to her.  
“Amethyst, what are you doing?” Garnet called up to her.  
“Steven and I are playing hide and seek,” she replied, “Have you seen him?”  
“Don’t you think that could be a bit dangerous?”  
Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry!” she assured the fusion, “We agreed we were going to just stay on deck! No going inside! I think. See ya!” Amethyst waved and took off.  
Garnet allowed herself to smile a little. As long as they were staying on deck, she couldn’t see much going wrong. But just to make sure, she used her future vision to try to determine where Steven was now. She concentrated long and hard before finally finding him. She gasped as she saw where he was and quickly got up, rushing off.

-Pearl

Pearl didn’t really see any reason to go out of the room, as she had everything she needed in the room. But after the fourth time she read the booklet about what to do if the ship started sinking, she started to grow rather bored.  
Edging the door open a tiny bit, she carefully peered down the hallway to make sure no one was there. She didn’t really want to have to step around anyone, and even though the hallways were of moderate size, she would have to squeeze past any larger people. After confirming that the halls were empty she stepped out and started heading for the main decks.  
As she walked through the hallway, she suddenly felt a strange tingle running down the back of her neck. Someone was watching her. She didn’t slow her pace, but quickly whipped her head around to try to catch the spy. She was surprised when she saw no one.  
“You’re just nervous, Pearl,” the gem said to herself, “You’re going stir crazy from being in the room all afternoon. As you get some fresh air, it’ll go away.”  
Telling herself this relaxed her a little, and she continued on. She used a hologram of the ship (provided by her gem) to navigate where she was. As Pearl walked, she suddenly heard a second pair of footsteps. Decades of fighting monsters immediately made her paranoid.  
“There are other people on this ship,” she reminded herself, trying to fight her rising fear, “They can walk these halls too. I don’t have to get so nervous.”  
She slowed her walk and carefully looked behind her. While she was distracted, she walked right into someone much larger than her, and she fell to the floor.  
“Oh! Pardon me! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” said a familiar voice. Pearl groaned as she looked up at who she had run into.  
It was Chad. He beamed down at her with a blinding mirror-like smile, and was offering his hand to her. Reluctantly, Pearl took it and he hauled her to her feet.  
“I was hoping I would see you again,” Chad said before Pearl could even begin to open her mouth, “I was just saying to myself: ‘Chad,’ I said, ‘That girl you met in the gym yesterday was real special. If you run into her again, you should try talking to her. She was awful pretty.’”  
“That’s very nice of you to say,” Pearl murmured, while also trying to avoid looking directly at him, “But right now I’m just trying to find my way to the main deck, so if you excuse me.” She tried to move past him, but Chad’s large bulk took up most of the hallway, blocking her escape.  
“Aw, don’t go!” Chad begged, puffing out his lower lip in an overly dramatic display, “I’ll help you find your way!”  
“I really don’t need any help,” Pearl insisted, trying to duck under him. Despite her tiny frame, Pearl couldn’t quite squeeze past the huge man in front of her. Chad barely had to move to block her path.  
“Don’t worry,” he said, taking her hand, which was pebble sized compared to his massive paw, “You can stick with me. I’ll take good care of you!”  
Pearl tried to object, but Chad would have none of it. He dragged her down the hall, and Pearl had no choice but to follow him. As she stumbled after him, she tried to ignore his constant talking and focus more on not falling over.  
“You know, there’s going to be a ball tonight,” Chad rambled on, “All the guests are going to be there. I would be honored if you would go with me as my plus one.”  
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Pearl replied, as politely as she could, “That doesn’t really sound like something I would enjoy.” In fact, Pearl would love the opportunity to do some ballroom dancing, but she didn’t want to do it with Chad.  
“Come on! I insist!” Chad exclaimed, pulling Pearl closer to himself. He cupped his hand under her chin and forced her look into his eyes. “I really do.”  
Pearl felt a tremor run up her back. She felt a strange sort fear going through her. Was this man… threatening her?  
“Um, well, if you insist,” Pearl muttered, trying to fight back her panic.  
Chad flashed his blinding smile at her. “Excellent!” he replied, “I look forward to seeing you there!” At that moment, he let go of her, as they had arrived at the main deck. He flashed her another smile before lumbering off.  
Pearl stared after him, the sense of dread continuing to grow instead of fade.

-Steven

Steven wandered through the inner halls of the ship, looking for a place to hide. He couldn’t remember if he and Amethyst had agreed on hiding inside or outside, but he was going to assume they agreed on inside. In a short amount of time he had become completely lost. Where was he?  
“Let’s see, I went down like, four flights of stairs,” Steven muttered out loud, “Then I took two lefts, or was it three? Maybe there’s a map around here.”  
He turned around to look for a map and noticed an open door. He could faintly hear sounds coming from beyond it. Maybe there was someone who could help him find his way back to the deck!  
“Hello?” Steven called, peering into the room, “Is anyone here?”  
The room he had stepped into seemed to be some sort of engine room. Definitely not somewhere he should be. He sighed to himself. He wasn’t going to find help here.  
As he turned to leave, he suddenly heard a strange groan. He paused and looked around. Where was that coming from? The engines were roaring, but not groaning. Was there something wrong? The groan sounded again, and it sounded more strained this time. Listening closely, Steven pinpointed the sound coming from a nearby pipe. Curious, he leaned in to inspect it. Was it… bulging?  
“Steven!” a shout sounded from outside in the hallway. Steven gasped and turned around. It was Garnet!  
“Garnet! I’m in here!” he called to her.  
Garnet appeared in the doorway, looking a tiny bit out of breath, as if she had been sprinting. She relaxed a little when she saw Steven, but when she saw what he was standing next to, she immediately tensed up again.  
“Steven! Get away from there!” she shouted, quickly dashing forward.  
Just as Garnet reached Steven and wrapped her arms around him, the pipe suddenly burst.

**Author's Note:**

> Always remember to leave a comment and a kudos if you liked it!


End file.
